Waupee Lake Swamp

State Natural Area (No. 483)

Location: Within the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. Oconto County. T31N-R17E, Sections 1, 2, 3, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 22, 23. T32-R17E, Section 34, 35, 36. 2,886 acres.

Access: Access is by County Road W, Riverview Road, and an unimproved road. From Mountain, go east on County W 4.5 miles, then east on Riverview Road (FR 2107) 2.4 miles to a point where the road turns north. Turn south on an unimproved road and continue south for about 0.5 mile. Waupee Lake lies a short distance to the east.

Description: The Waupee Lake complex is an arm of the much more extensive Peshtigo Brook Swamp to the south and east of the National Forest. The entire complex is within the basin of glacial Lake Oconto and is underlain by a nearly level bed of sand. Relief is provided by wind and water-worked sand dunes and occasional rock outcrops. Most of the swamp surrounding Waupee Lake is dominated by northern white cedar. Associated trees include tamarack, black spruce, balsam fir, black ash, red maple, paper birch, yellow birch, and eastern hemlock. A few scattered super-canopy white pine and red pine are present. Characteristic understory includes bunchberry, creeping snowberry, three-leaved goldthread, Labrador-tea, false Solomon’s seal, gaywings, and cinnamon fern. Contained within the SNA is the headwaters for Little Waupee Creek, which flows southwest into the North Branch of the Oconto River. Waupee Lake, a 34-acre wild lake, has a high concentration of rare plants in the conifer swamps that surround the lake. Around the lake are open wetlands dominated by sedges, bulrushes, blue-joint grass, and other grasses. Common species include marsh fern, marsh cinquefoil, blue flag, swamp betony, and poison sumac. Emergent and floating-leaved vegetation is present along the lake margins and across portions of its surface. Species include soft-stem bulrush, cat-tail, common reed, pond-lilies, and white water lily. Overall, the swamps of this area have moderate plant species richness except around Waupee Lake, which apparently benefits from calcareous groundwater inputs giving it an unusually high number of rare plant species. The surrounding uplands support sugar maple, quaking aspen, balsam fir, and eastern hemlock. East of the lake and swamp are slightly higher areas dominated by hemlock and white pine. Waupee Lake Swamp is owned by the US Forest Service and was designated a State Natural Area in 2007.